Amusement apparatus.



No. 871,744 PATENTED NOV. 19, 1907.

T. VAN KANNEL.

AMUSEMENT APPARATUS. APPLIOATION FILED MAE. 9. 1907.

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PATENTED NOV. 19, 1907.

T. VAN KANNBL.

AMUSEMENT APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED HAB- 9. 1907.

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AMUSEMENT APPARATUS. APPLICATION FILED MAE. s. 1907.

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. PATENTED NOV. 19, 1907. T. VAN KANNEL. AMUSEMENT APPARATUS.

APPLIOATIOF FILED UAR. 9. 1907.

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THEOPHILUS VAN KANN AMUSEMENT Specification of Letters Patent.

PATENT OFFICE.

EL, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

APPARATUS.

Patented Nov. 19, 1907.

Application filed March 9 1907. Serial No. 361.4:7'7.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, TIIEOPHILUS VAN KANNEL, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at 519 West One Hundred and Fortyfirst street, NewYork, county and State of New York, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Amusement Apparatus, fully described and represented inthe -following specification and the accompanying drawings, forming apart of the same.

The present invention relates to certain improvements in the amusementor illusion apparatus patented by me on March 4, 1902, with No. 6943M,in which a series of progressive rising and falling movements simulatingthe waves of the sea are imparted to a floor of flexible material forthe purpose of. propelling and also agitating any conveyance or vehicleborne upon the floor. In the said patent, rotary mechanism was describedto operate upon the under side of the floor or rollers attached theretoso as to impart the progressive rising and falling movements; but thepresent invention substitutes reciprocating lifters for such rotarymechanism, as it is found by experience that such lifters can be readilyactuated by bell-cranks having a common connection to a reciprocatingrod. The relatively small friction of pivots is thus substituted for thegreater friction of shafts and eccentrics.

A plurality of pairs of bell-cranks is employed in a group under eachwave length of the floor, and a plurality of driving-bars is jointed tothe several pairs, and the bars reciprocated progressively to producethe re quired wave motion. The invention also provides means forneutralizing the weight of the connecting-bars. The bell-cranks underthe opposed portions of each wave are reversely arranged, which whollybalances the weight of the 'lhmr-portions resting upon such cranks.

The movement of the connecting-bars is necessarily in a right line, andmay be extended -for any length below a continuous section of thevibrating or undulating floor, but where it is desired to place sectionsof the floor at an angle with one another, suitable means is used fordiverting the motion of the connecting-bars at the desired angle. As theundulating floor imitates fluid waves, the surroundings of the apparatusare preferably constructed to imitate the shore of a stream, lake, orother body of water, and in practice, the apparatus is erected with twoof the vibrating floors upon opposite sides of a platform or island, aspace between the floors at one end being connected by so-called rapids,and the space at' the opposite end having an ordinary fixed floor. Thevehicles or conveyances started from an embarking station upon or nearthis fixed Iloor would progress over one of the undulating floors, thenacross the rapids, and then back upon the other undulating floor to adebarking station, from which the vehicles would be moved across thefixed floor to be used again at the embarking station; such iixed lloorbeing sloped downwardly to facilitate such transfer.

The embarking station may be formed as a pier connected to the line ofthe shore but having also a V: ve motion, and the first course of theundulating :[loor may be formed with an upward grade of sufliciontdegree to afford a rapid descent or incline where the rapids arelocated. The conveyances would thus be able to descend the rapids bygravity to enter upon the return course also of an upward grade wherethey would be propelled forward by the wave motion of the floor. Suchgrades would ail'ord the necessary dcclination of the fixed floor.

The invention embraces many details of construction which improve thedurability and the operation of the apparatus, all of which will beunderstood by reference to the annexed drawing, in which Figure 1 is adiagrammatic plan illustrating one application of my invention; Fig. 2is a vertical section of the floor-vibrating apparatus and thedriving-gear, the view being taken on line 22 in Figs. 1 and (i; Fig. 3is a diagram illustrating the balancing of the weight of thedriving-bars, only one of the four bars being shown, and the cranks intheir central position; Fig. i is a similar view showing the alternatecranks in their extreme opposite positions; Fig. 5 is a similar diagramshowing the use of a lever and weight to balance a driving-bar; F 6 is aplan of a part of the liloor-supporting mechanism with the ends ofthedriving-bars; Fig.

Fig. 6, and Fig. 8 is a vertical section, where hatched, at the centersof the crank-shafts in Fig. 2. Fig. 9 is an elevation of part of thelifting apparatus in section on line 9 9 in Fig. 6; Fig. 10 is a similarelevation showing an alternative construction for the lifter andbell-cranks; Fig. 11 is a cross section of two beams with floor-platesattached Fig. 12 is 7 is an elevation in section on line 66 in v at theends of the floors B and B.

a diagram, in vertical cross section, of a floor movable at one edgeFig. 13 is a diagram, in vertical cross section, of a floor movable simultaneously at both edges in the same direction; Fig. 14 is a diagram,in vertical cross section, of a floor pivoted in the middle and movablein opposite directions at its opposite edges; Fig. 15 is a cross sectionof cer tain floor-beams with plates pivoted thereon to form the pliablefloor; and Fig. 16 is a cross section of a floor formed of closelyadjacent beams.

In Fig. 1, A designates an island, upon the opposite sides of which twoundulating floors B and B are shown connected at one end by a rapids O,,and having a fixed floor 0 between the opposite ends, where anembarking pier E and a debarking pier F are shown Waves are representedby shading on the floor B only, lines correspondingto the tops of thewaves being shown on the floor B, and only the beams to support thefloor-plates being shown in the floor of the rapids O. The floor B formsan advancing upwardly inclined course in which vehicles placed upon thefloor are moved by the waves in the direction of the arrow G, and thefloor B forms a returning course in which vehicles are moved by thewaves in the direction of the arrow G. In passing from one course to theother, the vehicles are moved by gravity down the rapids C in thedirection of the arrow G The descent of the rapids brings the vehiclesback to about the original level, and the floor B is sloped upward in asufficient degree to afford a slight inclination of the fixed floortoward the embarking station, so that the vehicles are readily moved tosuch station, when the passengers have debarked.

A line H is shown along the middle of the floor or course B, at oppositesides of which flexible plates I are shown which form the pliable bodyof the floor, which rests, as shown in Figs. 5 and 6, upon a series oftransverse beams J. These beams are shown in Figs. 5 and 6 jointed attheir outer ends to stringers L by ball and socket joints K. The innerends of the beams adjacent to their joint line H are providedrespectively with a lifter casing M, and with a hook-casting having hookN which rests upon a seat M upon the lifter casting. Each of the liftercastings has a downwardly projecting cup or socket, marked M in Fig. 2,which receives the upper end of a lifter-rod 0, the lower end of whichis pivoted to the arm P of a bellcrank; and the other arm or leg P ofsuch bell-crank is jointed. to a longitudinal connecting-rod Q. Thelifter-rod is thus connected or attachedpositively to the means forreciprocating it, so as to be positively moved both upward and downward.The rod is thus actuated with the least possible friction.

'By employing two sets of the beams J at opposite sides of a separatingline H and jointing the outer ends of the beams upon fixed stringers,the intermediate portion of the beam is readily raised and lowered bythe lifters 0, and a wave motion produced upon the floor, which isimperceptible near the outer ends of the beams and is increasinglygreater toward the line H. ing the lifter castings are supported by thelifters 0 and the beams having the hookcastings are supported by theseats upon the lifter castings, so that the lifter sustains and movesthe adjacent ends of the beams simultaneously.

The beams are jointed attheir outer ends by ball and socket joints sothat they may not only rise at their adjacent ends but may tip atdifferent angles, as indicated by the dotted lines j in Fig. 2, and toprevent any extension or stretching of the floor-plates under suchrocking motion, the tops of the beams which support the floor-plates areplaced on a line with the centers of the balls so as to locate the uppersurface of beams at the center of motion, which permits them to rockwithout approaching to or receding from one another at the surface whichsupports the plates.

The floor-plates are attached to the beams when the beams are set at therespective locations required to form the contour of the wave, and theplates are not thereafter stretched by the movements of the beams, asany extension of the plate in one direction is neutralized by an equalretracting in an opposite direction. The lifters are jointed at theirlower ends upon their respective bellcranks, and their upper ends arethus free to rock, permitting the beams to move laterally in any degreethat may be demanded by the movement of the floor-plates.

Fig. 2 shows the transverse section of the lifter sockets N and a singlewave length of the floor supported by eight of the lifters, marked 0, 00 0, 0 0 0 0 respectively. The lifters 0 and 0 are shown under thewidest part of the wave and the lifters 0 under the highest part; and toproduce the required undulating movement, the lifters 0 to 0 areprogressively raised, while the lifters 0 to 0 are progressivelylowered. To produce such movement, the bell-cranks 011ealf of a wavelength apart as 0 and 0, are connected to the same driving-bar Q, andother pairs of lifters onehalf of a wave length apart are connected toother drivingbars Q, Q and Q the four pairs of lifters under thesuccessive waves throughout the length of a floor being connected withthe same four driving-bars. I

To balance the weights imposed upon the various bellcranks and thusdiminish in the greatest degree the power required to undu late thefloor, the lifters which are one-half The beams havof a wave lengthapart as 0 and 0 are supported by bell-cranks whose arms P project inopposite directions, while their legs I are jointed with the samedriving-bar and the weight of floor above such lifters is thustransmitted to the connecting-rod in opposite directions and the weightsare balanced and oi'ler no resistance to the movement of the rod. Thelifters 0 and 0 have their arms likewise reversed and are connected tothe driving-bar Q, the lifters 0 and 0 are similarly reversed and theirlegs connected to the driving-bar Q and similarly the lifters 0 and 0are connected to the drivingbar The balancing of the weights byreversing the arms of the bell-cranks is clearly shown in Fig. 3, whereonly two pairs of the lifters are shown with the bell-cranl s in theircen tral position, and the tops of the lifters therefor all at the samelevel. Fig. 3 also illustrates the balancing of the weights of thedriving-bars, which must necessarily rise when the legs of thebell-cranks are swung through an. are as indicated in Fig. 2, and whichwould. require the consumption of power to lift them in such swingingmovement.

To neutralize the weight of the drivingbar, I divide it in half at themiddle of its length and project the legs ol the bell-cranks upwardlywhere connected with one-half oi the driving-bars (as indicated at theright hand side of Fig. 3) and connect the two halves Q, Q of thedriving-bar by a link The driving-bar for the bell-cranks in the firsthalf of any series of waves thus rises as the legs of the bell-cranksswing l'rom the vertical line; while the driving-bar connected with thesecond half of the series l alls to the same extent, the rising andfalling being simultaneous and proportional in all positions of thebell-cranks. Such rising and lalling is illustrated in Fig. 4-, wherefour waves are shown with the eight litters operating under the wave atone-hall oi a wave length apart.

A rocker It is shown connected to the lel't hand of each of thedriving-bars in Fig. 2, and a connecting-rod S for oscillating the sameto reciprocate the driving-bars successively by gearing which will behereinafter described. The gearing reciprocates the connecting-rods anddriving-bars successively, and thus gives the bell-cranks theprogressive motion required to produce the wave motion of the undulatinglloor by means of the lifters. Instead of projecting the legs of thebell-cranl s in reverse directions and dividing the driving-bar as shownin Fig. 3, the weight of the driving-bar may be neutralized by suitableweights attached to the hubs of the bell-cranks and projected upon theside opposite to the log. All of the bell-cranks in Fig. 2 could thus beprovided with balance weights, but only one such weight is shown (P toavoid confusion with the other parts ol the figure. Such weights wouldmove at one side of the lifter-rod and avoid interference with the beamsand liftersockets. Each bell-crank may be thus provided with a means tobalance the portion of the driving-bar to which it is attached. A leverP carrying a weight P" may be connected to any of the driving-bars asshown in Fig. 5, and the weight I proportioned to balance the weight olsuch driving-bar, by its projection from the opposite end of the lever.

To connect the undulating lloor with a stationary lloor, a few oi" thepivoted beams adjacent to the edge of the lixed lloor may have a lessermotion than those beams which have the normal wave movement. This iseffected as shown in Fig. 2 where the edge C of the fixed lloor isshown, with the lloorplates I extended over and secured tothe same, andthe two beams J, J adjacent to such fixed 'iloor connected by lifters 0,0, with bell-cranks having arms shorter than the remaining bell-cranksin Fig. 2, and graduated to produce an increasing move ment of theundulating lloor in proportion to its distance l'rom the iixed iloor C",until the whole wave motion is attained, which el lectcd by the liltersbeyond the litter 0. A vehicle advancing from the .lixed lloor upon theundulating lloor is thus subjected to gradually increasing vibrationsuntil it rests upon the lloor over the lil ters 0, 0 &c.

The arms and legs ol the bell-cranks are preferably .l'orlced or madewith double plates as is clearly shown in Figs. 6, 7, 9 and 10, so thatthe pivots a (Fig. 9) of the litter-rods I may be supported at bothends, and the pins 7' which connect the legs I to the drivingbars may inlike manner he supported at both ends. A tee-bar as indicatml by thesections in Figs. 7 and 9, is preferably used For the driving-bars, asit, possesses great stillness in proportion to its weight; and extendedbearings tor the pivots '1' ol' the legs P are formed in the drhing-bars by means ol" bushings '2" extended each through a hole in theplate ol'" the tee-bar and shouldered u pon one end to lit such plate,and having a collar 7" secured upon the opposite end to hold the bushingupon the plate. The opposite ends of the bushing project a little beyondthe 'ilanges ol" the tee-bar so as to hold the two plates ol the leg Iclear from the edges ol the bar. It is immaterial how the collar 1' besecured upon the bushing, whether by screw-tlnead or a pin, as theessential feature of this element is the furnishing of a long bearingfor the pivot-pin where it extends through the plate of the tee-bar, soas to give it strength and durability. The shal'ts (l are made morerigid by having them Iixed securely in their bearings upon the girdersf,

and permitting the bell-cranks to rock upon them; collars .9 beingapplied, as shown in Figs. 6, 9 and 10 to hold the bell-cranks in theirrespective places upon the shafts.

successive movements of the driving-bars. It will be observed that eachcrank-pin is secured in two of the disks, and that such A crank-gearingis shown for reciprocat disks carry none of the other crank-pins,

ing the driving-bars with a particular construction to produce thesuccessive movements of four crank-pins so as to reciprocate thedriving-bars successively and avoid the use of a bent crank-shaft inproducing a consecutive movement of all the cranks.

This is accomplished by mounting each crank-pin 0 upon two crank-diskswith teeth upon the margin of each disk, and pinions rotating the disksin unison, so as to support both ends of each crank-pin equally in itscircular motion. By a suitable arrangement of bearings, any number ofsuch disks may be mounted upon the same axis; but I find itadvantageous, in reciprocating four connecting-rods to place four of thedisks for operating two of the crank-pins below the driving pinions andfour disks for operating the other two crank-pins above such pinions.

Figs. 7 and 8 show the disk-shafts T, T, mounted in a stand U, with thepinion-shaft V intermediate to the same. The stand has two side-framestied together by top-plate U and side-plate U Pulleys V are shown uponthe pinion-shaft to rotate it, but a directly connected electric motoror other means may be employed. Each of the diskshafts is divided at twopoints to permit the movement of the connecting-rods S across the centerof the disk, the middle section T of each shaft being carried by abearing 25 or 15 extended inward from the plate U or U on the edge ofthe stand. Each end section of the shaft T has one toothed disk 0,attached thereto, and the middle section T has two of the toothed disksattached, and crank-pins are extended between the disks (1 and'a, andsecured therein by nuts a upon their ends. The teeth upon theperipheries of the disks a and a mesh with pinions 17 upon thepinion-shaft V so that they all rotate simultaneously, and thecrank-pins c are set in such a relation to one another upon the severaldisks that the connecting-rods S are reciprocated successively andactuate the bell-cranks in the desired progressive order.

It will be evident from inspection of Fig. 8, that the force required toreciprocate the connecting-bars S is applied more directly by means ofthe several disks, which are driven by the teeth upon their periphery,than could be done by a bent crank driven from one or both ends. Theconstruction is also much cheaper than a crank bent four but are rotatedindependently by ,pmions upon the pinion-shaft V; which permits eachpair of disks, carrying one crank-pin, to be adjusted in relation to anyof the others. It will be understood that where two pairs of the disksare used upon the same axis, an intermediate bearing t or t is requiredfor the intermediate portion T of the disk-carrying shaft; but suchbearing, as shown in Figs. 7 and 8, may be firmly supported upon theframe, so as to hold the disks (1 concentric at all times with the disksa. The plates U and U upon the edges of the gear-stand l furnish firmsupports for such bearings.

times to operate four connecting-rods, and

Where a plurality of connecting-rods is used, they necessarily lie sideby side as shown in Figs. 6, 9 and 10, and the bellcranks actuated byeach of such rods must necessarily oscillate in the same plane upontheir respective shafts (1. Such shafts are shown in Figs 6 and 7mounted in j ournalbearings d upon girders f which are sustained upon afoundation 9 below the adja cent ends of the beams J. Such bell-crankscannot, owing to their connection with the several driving-bars, all liebeneath the joint H of the floor-beams, and the sockets M in the socketcastings M may therefore be made at different distances from the line H,or the arm P of the bell-crank be attached to the hub at one side of theleg P In Fig. 7, one of the sockets M that drawn in section, is shownclose to the line H, while another indicated in dotted lines is at aconsiderably greater distance from said line, to. receive a lifterextended upward from one of the bellcranks adjacent to the bearing d;and Fig. 9 shows such a socket and bell-crank dissociated from theadjacent sockets and bellcranks. Fig. 10 shows the alternativeconstruction with an elongated hub upon the' bell-crank having the arm Pat one side of the leg P, so that its lifter is in line with a socketclose to the line H. Any other suitable means may be employed to actuatethe bell-cranks in several different planes and to connect their lifterssuitably with the sockets in the lifter castings upon the floor-beams.The floor-plates are in practice made of pliable steel sheets, in twothicknesses I, I, with the two sheets arranged to break joints as shownin Fig. 1, the inner plates I being attached to the beams are shown byscrews 6 in Fig. 11, and the outer plates attached to the inner ones bybolts and nuts 6. Instead of extending floor-plates across a pluralityof the beams and attaching them thereto, the space between each pair ofbeams may be covered by a separate plate I as shown in Fig. 15, theplates being hinged together at their edges as indicated at i, or formedwith ribs 70 upon their edges fitted to grooves 70 in the tops of thebeams.

The apparatus may be constructed without any floor-plates, by making thebeams of wedge-shape and setting them close together in a continuousseries as shown in Fig. 16, with dowels Z in their adjacent edges tokeep them in conjunction. In such construction, each beam would have aball and socket joint at one end, and they would be connected in groupsof three or four at their movable ends, with a litter casting having aflange m extended beneath such group and provided with the socket forthe top of the lifter, which thus operates to raise the beamssuccessively as desired.

Vehicles or conveyances of any kind, as boats, imitation horses onwheels, velocipedes, imitation automobiles, and any other structuresrunning on wheels may be used with this undulating floor, theprogressive motion of the waves operating automatically to propel suchvehicle upon the floor, and the vehicles requiring merely a steeringmechanism to guide them in their path around the different courses, anda brake to arrest them.

WVhen the vehicles are placed upon the floor at the embarking pier, theyare tied to the pier or held by their brakes, but may be subject to therocking motion of the floor as the passengers embark, and the vehicle,be ing then released, is propelled by the waves over the course B, fromwhich it is steered by the operator on to the rapids C. It then movesover the rapids by gravity, and after passing over the same is steeredon to the returning course B, where it is propelled by the waves, and isguided to the debarking pier F, where it is again secured while thepassengers disembark. The vehicle is then shifted by hand to theembarking pier, each movement being aided by the declivity of the fixedfloor C The alternating inclinations of the floors B, B and C, create aconsiderable variety of the movement of the vehicles, a variation in thegrade being made between the floor B and rapids C, as the floor is muchlonger than the rapids, and a gradual ascent of such floor suffices toafford a very descending grade to the apparatus. The course B may thusbe made adjacent to the rapids at nearly the same level as the embarkingpoint, and thus require but a slight grade upwardly to the pier F toprocure a sufficient downward grade upon the floor C to facilitate theshifting of the unloaded vehicles across such floor.

The wave motion of the rapids is preferably made of variable characterat different parts of the rapids to produce short choppy waves, and thefloor-beams are hinged at their outer ends C and are vibrated up anddown at their inner ends C thus producing a very different motion fromthat upon the floors B and B, and creating a greater variety of effecton the different vehicles.

The floor-beams of the rapids are made divergent toward their fulcrumends, so that the rapids are longer at that end than next the island,which produces a much steeper grade adjoining the island, where thevibrations are the greatest, and thus causing the vehicles to travelfaster and experience a much greater vibration if directed along theinner side of the rapids.

It will be understood that there is no motion at the edges of the floorsB and B, and that the motion increases toward the middle line H of eachof such floors, and the guiding of the vehicles, by suitably steeringthem, enables the operator to vary the experience of the passengers andto subject them to a great variety of the wave motions.

Owing to the divergence of the beams which support the rapids, thefloors B, B, make an oblique junction with the ends of the rapids, andto blend together the motions of the side floors and the rapids, thebeams J 3 which support the end portions of the side floors are extendedfrom their fulcrums at the outer ends directly to the terminal beams Hof the rapids, where they are suitably jointed to such beams and participate in their movement, which facilitates the transfer of thevehicles smoothly from the floor to the rapids, or vice versa.

It is immaterial to the other features of the invention which areclaimed herein how the beams which support the lloorare fulcrumed orguided in their vibrating movements, as the means which l. have shownmay be applied to one end, or both ends of the beam, and. the beam maybe pivoted at one end or at the middle, or supported wholly by thelifters.

Fig. 12 shows diagrammatieally the pivoting of the beams as used for thefloors B, B, and rapids C in Fig. 1, the fulcrum It being placed at oneend of the beam Pl which is indicated in full lines in one position andin dotted lines in another position.

Fig. 13 illustrates the floor-beams J movable in parallel lines, byapplying simultaneously operating lifters to both ends, the beam beingshown in full lines in its raised position, and in dotted lines in itslowered position.

Fig. 14 shows a beam pivoted at the middle, and a lifter connected witheither end would thus operate to vibrate the opposite ends in reversedirections. The means for vibrating or undulating the floor may thus beused with any arrangement of floorbeams to which it is adapted.

y present invention is necessarily tributary to my above named priorpatent N 0. 694,447, as I have claimed broadly therein under the saidsocket, and means for recipr rocating the lifter rod attached directlyand positively to the lower end of the rod, to actuate the rodpositively both upward and downward.

2. In an amusement apparatus, the combination, with a pliable floor, ofa series of adjacent pivoted beams supporting the floor, a lifter-rodmovable vertically under the end of each beam, a bell-crank connectedwith.

each lifter-rod, and a series of bars con nected to the said bell-cranksand reciprocated to lift the rods progressively.

3 In an amusement apparatus, the com bination, with a pliable floor, ofa series of adjacent pivoted beams supporting the floor, a lifter-rodmovable vertically under the end of each beam, a bell-crank connectedwith each lifter-rod, such bell-cranks forming a group under each Wavelength of the floor, and a plurality of bars connected to the bellcranksof each group and operated successively to lift the rods progressivelyto produce a wave-motion of the floor.

4. In an amusement apparatus, the combination, with a pliable floor, ofa series of adjacent pivoted beams supporting the floor, a lifter-rodmovable vertically under the end of each beam, reversely arrangedbell-cranks supporting-such lifter-rods in pairs, whereby the loads uponsuch rods are balanced, and means for progressively operating thebellcranks to produce awave-motion of the floor.

5. In an amusement apparatus, the combination, with a pliable floor, ofa series of adjacent pivoted beams supporting the floor, a group of suchbeams supporting each Wave length of the floor, a lifter-rod movablevertically under the end of each beam, a plurality of pairs of reverselyarranged bell-cranks supporting the liftenrods of each group in pairs,and a plurality of bars each connected to a pair of the reverselydisposed bell-cranks in each group and such bars. reciprocatedprogressively to produce a wave-motion of the floor.

6. In an amusement apparatus, the combination, with a pliable floorhaving its surface bent into a series of waves, of a series of adjacentpivoted beams supporting the floor, a group of such beams supportingeach wave length of the floor, lifter-rods movable vertically under thebeams at half a wave length apart in said series with reversely arrangedbell-cranks supporting such lifter-rods,

whereby the weights upon the rods are balanced, the vertical arms of thebell-cranks in one-half the series pointing upwardly and the other halfdownwardly, bars connecting the bell-crank arms which are extendedupwardly and other lbars connecting those extended downwardly, with alink jointed to such bars, whereby the weights of the bars for suchseries of waves are opposed to ,one another and also balanced.

7. In an amusement apparatus, the combination, with a pliable floor, ofa series of adjacent pivoted beams supporting the floor, a lifter-rodmovable vertically under the end of each beam, a forked bell-crank withfor]: embracing the lower end of each lifter, a thin wrought barconnecting the arms of the bell-cranks with a bearing inserted in suchbar to joint with the bell-crank, and the forked arm of the bell-crankembracing such pearing and jointed thereto by a througholt.

8. In an amusement apparatus, the combination, with a pliable floor, ofa series of adjacent pivoted beams supporting the floor, a lifter-rodmovable vertically under the end of each beam, bell-cranks rocking allin the same plane connected with such lifter-rods, and a pair of girdersunderneath the ends of the beamswith fulcrum shafts for the bellcranksjournaled transversely between the said girders.

9. In an amusement apparatus, the combination, with a pliable floor, ofa series of adjacent pivoted beams supporting the floor, a lifter-rodmovable vertically under the end of each beam, bell-cranks rocking allin the same plane connected with such lii'terrods, and a pair of girdersunderneath the ends of the beams with journal bearings at the 0ppositesides of each bell-crank, and fulcrumshafts for the bell-cranksjournaled in the said bearings.

10. In an amusement apparatus, the com bination, with a pliable floor,of a series of adjacent pivoted beams supporting the floor, an evennumber of such beams forming a group under each wave length of thefloor, a'lifter-rod movable vertically under the end of each beam, aplurality of pairs of reversely arrangedbell-cranks supporting in pairsthe lifter-rods at half a wave length apart, a girder underneath theends of the beams at each side of the bell-cranks with journal-bearingsat the opposite sides of each bell-crank, fulcrum-shafts for thebell-cranks j ournaled in the said bearings, a plurality of bars eachconnected to a pair of reversely arranged bell-cranks and means foroperat ing the bars successively to impart motion progressively to thelifter-rods.

11. In an amusement apparatus, the combination, with a pliable floor, ofa series of adjacent beams supporting the floor, with an even number ofsuch beams supporting each wave length of the floor, a litter-rod underthe movable end of each beam, a series of connecting-rods arranged sideby side and reciprocated transversely to. the beams, with bell-cranksconnecting the said rods to the lifter-rods one-halt a wave lengthapart, and a portion of the bell-cranks having ofl'set arms to bring thelifter-rods of such bellcranks in line with other litter-rods.

12. In an amusement apparatus, the combination, witha pliable lloor, ofa series ol" adjacent beams supporting the floor, a stringer at one endof the beams with ball and socket oint on a line with the top of thebeam, means at the opposite end of the beam for holding the lifter-rodin conjunction therewith, and a lifter-rod supported thereunder andprovided with means for reciproeating it to vibrate the beam.

13. In an amusement apparatus, a double pliable floor movable verticallyat its middle joint and comprising two series otadjacent beams with theseparate floors laid thereon at opposite sides of such joint, the beamsbeing pivoted at their outer ends and supported one upon the other attheir adjacent ends, and means for vibrating the adjacent ends of thesupporting beams to produce a progressive wave motion.

14. In an amusement apparatus, a double pliable floor movable verticallyat its middle joint and comprising two series of adjacent beams forsupporting the floor with stationary stringers for sustaining theirouter ends and ball and socket joints on a line with the tops of thebeams, means for supporting the adjacent ends of the beams one upon theother, and means for progressively vibrating the movable ends of thesupporting beams to produce a progressive wave motion of the iloor.

15. In an amusement apparatus, a double pliable .tloor movablevertically at its middle joint and comprising two series of adjacentbeams with the lloors laid thereon, the beams being pivoted at theirouter ends and provided at their opposed ends one with a lifter castinghaving a socket upon the under side and a projecting seat, and the otherwith a hook casting having a hook to rest upon said seat, litter-rodsfitted to the said sockets and means for reciprocating the sameprogressively to impart a wave motion to the floor.

16. In an amusement apparatus, the combination, with a pliable floorhaving a series of adjacent pivoted beams supporting the Iloor, and aseries 01 connecting-rods recipro cated transversely below the beams,with connections to vibrate the beams progressively to produce a wavemovement ol" the Iloor, a crank-pin and connecting-rod for reciprocatingeach oi the cormecting-bars, each crank-pin being mounted upon twogeardisks, with a pair of ournals and bearings for supporting such disksand. toothed pinions operating to turn the disks of each pairsimultaneously to propel the crank-pins.

17. In an an'rusement apparatus, the combination, with a pliable Iloorhaving a series of adjacent pivoted beams supporting the Iloor, and aseries of connecting-bars reciprocated transversely below the beams withconnections to vibrate the beams progressively to produce a wavemovement of the lloor, a crank-pin and connecting-rod for reciprocatingeach of the connecting-rods, a gear-stand supporting two gear-disks foreach of the said crank-pins, the disks having journals and thegear-stand having bearings titted to such journals, a pinion-shaftmounted in such gearstand and pinions upon such shaft meshing with theperipheries of all the gear-disks to rotate them in unison, and tooperate the connecting-rods progressively as required.

18. In an amusement apparatus, the combination, with a pliable 1001'having a series of adjacent pivoted beams supporting the Iloor, and aseries of connecting-rods reciprocated transversely below the beams withconnections to vibrate the beams progressively to produce a wavemovement of the floor, a crank-pin and connccting-bar for reciprocatingeach of the connecting-rods, a gear-stand having sidel'rames, and apinion-shaft extended across said l'rames, bearings upon the framesabove and below the pinion-shaft, journals fitted to such hearings inpairs with gear-disks mounted upon said journals in pairs, two pairs ateach side of the pinionshaft, and the crank-pins fitted thereto, pinionsupon the pinion-shait meshing with all of the gear-disks to rotate themin unison, and tie-plates extended across the top and one side of thestand-frames with the middle bearing for the gear-disk journals extendedto such tie-plates and supported thereby.

19. In an amusement apparatus, the combination, with a pliable floorhaving a series of adjacent pivoted beams supporting the [loor and aseries of connecting-rods reciprocated transversely below the beams witheonnections to vibrate the beams progressively to produce a wavemovement of the floor, a crank-pin and connecting-bar 'lor reciprocatingeachol" the connectii1grods, a gearstand having side-frames with apinion-shaft extended across the same, gear-disks journaled upon theframe above and below such pinionshaft and driven thereby in pairs eachpair carrying one of said crank-pins, and all of the connecting-barsconverging toward the ends of the connecting-rods with rockers havingjournals supported adjacent to the ends of such bars and pins connectingeach rocker to one ol said connecting-bars and connecting rods.

20. In an amusement apparatus, the combination, with a pliable floorhaving a progressive wave motion, ol' a second pliable lloor connectedthereto and having a descending grade to produce an imitation of arapids, and the pliable floor of such rapids being oscillatedvertically.

21. In an amusement apparatus, the combination, with a pliable floorhaving an upward grade and a progressive wave motion, of a secondpliable floor connected thereto and having a descending grade tosimulate a rapids, the pliable floor of such rapids having a wave motionimparted thereto of irregular character and different from the wavemotion of the primary floor.

22. In an amusement apparatus, the combination, with a double pliablefloor having stationary pivots at its edges and. movable vertically atits middle joint, of a second pliable floor connected thereto and havinga descending grade to simulate a rapids, the floor of such rapids havingstationary pivots at one edge and movable vertically at the oppositeedge, and means for imparting a progressive wave motion to the firstfloor at its middle joint, and to the second floor at one edge of thesame.

23. In an amusement apparatus, the combination of three pliable floorshaving a progressive wave -motion, the first course B having anascending grade and a progressive wave motion, the second course Cconnected at an angle thereto and having a descending grade, and thethird course 13 connected at an angle to the end of the second courseand having an ascending grade, as and for the purpose set forth.

24. In an amusement apparatus the combination, of three pliable floorshaving aprogressive wave motion, the first course B having an ascendinggrade, the second course C extended from one end thereof at rightangles, and made longer upon its outer edge than upon its inner edge,and the third course B extended at right angles from the second course,the other ends of the first and third courses being connected by arigid. floor, as and for the purpose set forth.

25. In an amusement apparatus, the combination, with two parallel doublepliable floors B, B, each movable vertically at its middle joint andhaving two series of supporting beams with fulcrum supports at theirouter ends, of the transverse pliable floor C with supporting beamshaving fulcrums at their outer ends and movable vertically at theirinner ends, and their outer ends set farther apart than their inner endsand thus at an angle with the joints H of the two parallel floors theportions of the parallel floors which join the transverse floor havingsingle supporting beams jointed at their outer ends and attached attheir inner ends to the terminal beams of the transverse In an amusementapparatus, the combination, with a pliable floor, of'means forconnecting portions of the floor with other similar portions to balancethe weight of such portions, and means for reciprocating the connectingmeans, whereby a wave mo tion is imparted to the floor without actuallylifting the weight of the floor.

27. In an amusement apparatus, the combination with a pliable floor, ofa series of adjacent pivot-beams supporting the floor, a lifter-rodmovable vertically under the end of each beam, means connecting thelifter rods under certain portions of the floor with the lifter-rodsunder other portions whereby the portions are balanced against oneanother, and a reciprocating driving-bar for reciprocating suchconnecting means and imparting a progressive wave motion to the floor.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in the presence of twosubscribing witnesses.

THEOPHILUS VAN KAN N EL.

I/Vitnesses:

JAMES B. F. MAHER, FRED FIEN.

